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The End of History
The End of History is a RP made by Facepunch user Amfleet, being their first majorly successful RP. Set at the start of the millennium, a period normally reserved for the Modern World series of RPs, this RP has brought back the contemporary scenario in style properly. The name of the RP is a reference to Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man", quoted in the OP of the RP itself, which summarizes the expectations a lot of people had in the time period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. This helps distinguish this game from a mere Modern World reboot in that there was still time to change this course of history. And boy, has it been changed. If you want to see any of the turns without going to Facepunch, use this link. Mechanics The RP itself is very much in style with most RPs, though it includes a semi-increasing trend within RPs of its time, which is turn previews, texts which highlight a select part of the next turn to keep its players and readers excited and/or worried for what's to come, as well as turn teasers, which are little comedic texts to placate everyone. Along with this, some mechanics were introduced, such as Credit Ratings, which debuted in Turn 2, as well as the Model UN, where players get together to do things diplomatically in what some would call a mini-game. The GM has also revealed that they will be doing awards in the same style as Broken Men. Fiction Days of Terror 4 Preview: Late 2001 The Planes Plot 1: August 8th A chain of events that would forever change our understanding of war began on a sultry evening in San Diego, California. As dusk fell, police barricades went up in the vicinity of San Diego State University, blocking access to Interstate 8 and forming a dragnet spanning more than a square mile. In neighborhoods around the university, police and FBI agents went door to door asking residents for information regarding four Middle Eastern men- Mohamed Atta of Egypt, Marwan Al-Shehhi, of the United Arab Emirates, Ziad Jarrah, of Lebanon, and Hanji Hanjour of Saudi Arabia. Their suspected crime: an ambitious plot to hijack one or more civilian airliners for use as suicide weapons against unknown civilian targets within the United States. When the CIA had first received reports of this plot from an external source, many of its agents initially regarded them as incredible. Even with Al-Qaeda’s establish reputation for lethal terror attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the sophistication and scale of the attack seemed unbelievable from a group of backwater jihadis. However, after further investigations into flight schools in San Diego and Florida confirmed the presence of these suspects, the urgency of arresting them became plain. FBI agents in California scrambled to grab these hijackers before they could slip away and wreak whatever devastation they had planned. The manhunt proceeded for several hours without a breakthrough. As the agents were beginning to believe they had lost their men for good, an unlikely break came to them in the form of a bouncer at Cheetahs, a strip club located in the northern part of the city. He stated that all four men had been frequent patrons of the club and was able to give a complete description of their blue 1988 Toyota Corolla as well as security camera footage that included the license plate number. Around midnight, agents descended upon the vehicle’s registered address. Surrounding street lights were shut off, and the heavily armed officers used night vision to assault the building. To their surprise, the would-be hijackers were unarmed aside from small box-cutter knives and surrendered immediately. Aside from a few crudely faked bombs, they had neither the means nor the will to resist. Tragedy had been averted, or so it seemed for a short while. The Bowling Green Massacre 2: August 9th to 11th August 9th/10th As detectives and special investigators scoured the house and interrogated the four terrorists and their associates, it quickly became clear that not all the bases had been covered. Seized floppy disks, plane ticket receipts, and other documentation all alluded to the presence of more terrorists complicit in the plot. Though the captured terrorists claimed that they were the only four in the nation, the ticket receipts and text messages from Atta’s phone implicated three Saudi nationals who had arrived in Orlando that June. The text messages suggested that they were aware of the failure of their plot and had been instructed to carry out a conventional attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago instead. Believing the authorities to be unaware of their presence, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Majed Moqed, and Ahmed al-Nami set off from Orlando in a U-Haul truck. The truck bore a hastily assembled but massive fertilizer bomb, and the men carried several legally-purchased firearms. Their apparent backup plan was to have one attacker detonate the truck bomb at the base of the Sears tower after the other two ambushed security guards to allow the truck to get close. For a long day and night the trio drove without sleep to their intended end, stopping only for food and prayer. They took a haphazard route diverting westward and avoiding interstates near urban areas, sometimes getting lost. One gas station owner recognized the attackers only after their attack had been carried out, as he had given them directions the day before. August 11th In the meantime, police forces across the nation and along the possible routes were given an All-Points Bulletin describing the fugitive terrorists. Details about the men were sparse and did not mention their vehicle. The U-Haul remained fairly inconspicuous for most of the journey, until Moqed’s sleepless driving began to take its toll. On the evening of Saturday the 11th, a Kentucky State Trooper patrolling Interstate 65 near Bowling Green, noticed the truck drifting in and out of its lane and almost off the highway. Believing the driver to be intoxicated, he pulled the truck over and greeted the terrorists with a request for a breathalyzer test. The only response he received was a hail of bullets. Realizing that they now had no chance of reaching Chicago without getting caught, the truck pulled off the interstate and turned onto Highway 231 in the Greenwood District. They searched for targets of opportunity and quickly found one in the form of Greenwood Mall. At around 9 PM, as the mall was full of Saturday night patrons, the U-Haul plowed into one of the main entrances and detonated. The explosion leveled large parts of the building, including the packed food court. More than 120 people were killed instantly. Horrified survivors fled the building only to find a pair of gunmen opening fire in the parking lot. Dozens more would be killed in the ensuing mayhem. After 30 minutes, SWAT teams finally cornered the attackers in the building. Before negotiators could arrive to get a peaceful surrender, the terrorists charged out of the building crying “Allahu Ackbar!” before being cut down in a storm of police gunfire. The deadliest attack on American soil since the Oklahoma City Bombing was finally over. In the days and weeks that followed, the death toll continued to rise as people succumbed to their injuries. The final death toll stood at 208. For Americans who had believed their homeland to be safe from foreign attack for more than half a century, the attack was jarring, as were the prospects of how much worse it could have been. Many called for revenge, and for an invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and to kill Bin Laden. Ultimately this appeared to prove unnecessary, as days later the Eurasian Air Force had begun bombing Taliban and Al-Qaeda positions mere days after the attacks and reports circulated that he had been killed in an air raid his training camp in Khost province. With the Kabul under siege and the habitable parts of the country mostly under Northern Alliance control, the Taliban are proving to be insufficient hosts for Al-Qaeda, who flee across the muslim world to Pakistan, Arabia, Somalia, and Iraq. It is in the last of these that the largest group find their new host. Viciously anti-Shiite, a number are employed as vicious fighters against the Iranians, but it is believed that most are hiding away in Iraq, waiting for a new opportunity to strike out at the enemy of the terrorists and Baathists alike. The Sum of All Fears 3: November 9th The 9th of November, 2001 began like any other Friday for New Yorkers. The chills of autumn swirled through the skyscrapers as a stiff breeze blew to the northeast. Christmas music had been playing on the radio since the first of the month, and though many complained as they always did that it was much too early, others had already begun shopping for the holiday season. In Brooklyn, the whole borough was abuzz as President Al Gore arrived to give a noon speech at the Brooklyn Public Library followed by a meeting with a group of underprivileged elementary students at the nearby Children’s Museum. All these activities were a part of a tour touting his New Age Education Act, which changed the way students learn as part of a focus on learning over testing, as well as practical life skills. Between this and his push to end the War on Drugs, Gore was extremely popular in the relatively poor, diverse borough than perhaps anywhere in the country. People from across the city and country crowded the library and gave his remarks long ovations. Miles offshore, however, trouble was brewing. A Coast Guard cutter hailed a small Liberian-flagged cargo ship heading into the port of New York, only to receive no response. After several attempts to raise the crew, the cutter steamed along the port side and gave signals to halt. As this was occurring, the crew lowered a smaller but heavily laden speedboat over the starboard side, which promptly took off towards Manhattan. The cutter then lowered its own fast boat to give chase. While they were unable to keep up, other Coast Guard vessels were waiting for the rogue boat under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. They would not live to grasp the gravity of the threat they were facing. At 12:36 PM on November 9th, 2001, history began again. First a bright flash that would be seen across the city, followed by a roar that would be heard around the world and a mushroom cloud that would be seen from space. Estimates say that the blast was about 45 kilotons. Much of Southern Brooklyn and East Brighton were reduced immediately to a wasteland, and radioactive fallout began to spread northeast carried on the wind. Two commuter flights on approach to JFK were blown out of the air by the massive blast. At the Brooklyn Library, the president was rushed into his radiation-sealed limousine, but not before receiving a crippling dose of radiation. Young and weak, most of the children he met that day would not survive. Many of those that did would be scarred for the rest of their lives by the debilitating effects of the creeping radiation. In all, more than 14,000 lives would be lost that day, with more than 75,000 injured. The count would only increase in the years to come. President Gore himself would suffer numerous third-degree radiation burns. Though he was expected to make a full recovery within a few months, the severity of his condition led to him being declared temporarily incapacitated, with Vice-President Joe Lieberman temporarily taking the helm of a reeling nation as the Acting President. He inherits a nation in crisis, desperate to find out how and why this could happen, rebuild, and seek revenge. Normal Life is on Hiatus Epilogue: November 10th to December 31st Across the nation and the world, the holiday season brought only despair. Global markets were in turmoil as the center of the world’s economy lay in shambles. Though Manhattan, the original target and center of the global economy as well as the UN was spared, investor confidence was shattered in the age of nuclear terrorism. World leaders clamored for Acting President Lieberman and the leaders of other rich nations to take decisive action to rebuild this confidence and ensure that the global system which had brought prosperity and Pax Americana would survive this heavy blow. The United States became the first nation to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and NATO allies new and old pledged their support to eliminate this threat before such horror could be seen ever again. In the homeland, citizens rallied behind the cause of justice. The trial of the Planes Plot attackers became the trial of the century as investigators attempted to determine what, if anything, they knew about this attack. Answers were slow to come. Specialists believed that the bomb was of Pakistani design, with all characteristics of the blast matching the largest Pakistani warheads. Eager to refute the accusation, Pakistan opened its nuclear armories to inspectors from all the world’s major powers, including their bitter rival India, which had been inspecting them for years as part of a non-proliferation treaty. It was the Indians who confirmed that nothing had changed and that no warheads were missing, confounding the investigation further. Rumors swirled. Had Iraq or Iran developed a bomb so quickly? Had Israel lost one of the nukes it denied possessing? Had Al-Qaeda managed to build its own? In a blood-boiling video, Osama Bin Laden reappeared after his presumed death in the Eurasian airstrikes to claim exactly as much, and to say that this attack was revenge for the imperialist activities of the Americans in the Middle East and greater muslim world, and to say that the next attacks would be directed at the Eurasians for their support of the apostate Northern Alliance and pro-Russian government of Chechnya. Both in the US and across the world, hate attacks against muslims skyrocketed, and Al-Qaeda began to attract Jihadis to its strongholds across the Middle East. While most Americans rallied behind Al Gore’s government, seeing him as a martyr figure who would fight the men who wounded him and killed so many before his eyes, a vocal few began to organize into far right groups. Dens of conspiracy theorists, violent self-proclaimed patriots, and open racists formed nationwide to challenge the government. Across the world, the peace that stood for so long has been replaced with a global war on terror. History has begun again. Al Gore's Televised Presidential Speech from the Hospital: December 31, 2001 My fellow Americans, these past few months have been months not of celebration as they usually had been, but of sorrow, grief, and anger. A terrible tragedy has befallen our great nation, as a cruel act of barbarism took the lives of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. Our very nation has been shaken to its core, as have I, by these events. Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and while many would believe him, we should not be reckless in our actions going forward. We must not make hasty decisions that we will come to regret later on, for more innocent lives would be at stake. Our nation, however, has a new enemy. An enemy that is not visible to us as clearly as they had been before. This enemy is not marked by a nation, or a uniform, but by ideology. This enemy looks like a normal person, a regular citizen of the country they inhabit, but secretly seek to plot to take innocent lives to further their agenda. Radical terrorism is now the threat to us and our allies across the world, as they seek to destabilize and divide us. But know this, they will fail. Our enemies before have failed and they will fail again. To Al-Qaeda, and any radical terrorist group out there, I say this: you will not divide us. Moving forward, we shall never forget the lives we have lost here today. And we will press forward into the future, remembering the lives lost here on that day. And we will bring to justice anyone and everyone involved in this terrible crime. With that being said, we must not also forget our roots. America is a nation of immigrants, of many backgrounds, of many ideas and beliefs, and we cherish that, all the way down to our Constitution. The melting pot of the United States is what allows us to be the greatest nation to ever grace the face of the Earth. We must not direct our anger to our neighbors because they happen to be Muslim, it was not them who did this. They are innocent here, and do not deserve to be treated in such a way. I have faith that the American people will find the good in their hearts to help thy neighbors, rather than shut the doors to their hearts. I have faith, that the American dream and its ideals will live on. Thanks you, And God Bless the United States of America. President Shafik's Speech to the Egyptian nation in regards to the events of 11/9: November 22, 2001 Good evening Egypt, as many of you must have heard by now our friend and ally, the USA, was attacked in a manner not thought plausible...Nuclear terrorism, yes that is correct, whoever carried out these attacks was armed with weapons of mass destruction. Such a prospect is frightening to say the least, and to the people of New York nothing so spectacularly devastating has ever been seen or felt, and it is to them I offer my thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences in these tragic times. It is also in these times that alliances must be honored...and we Egyptians maintain ours in the face of this new global threat. We will do our part in fighting these extremists as we have done for decades now. It is now however that I call upon the Egyptian people to raise your voices and arms against this menace that would threaten our peace...our freedoms...our very way of life. They will tremble at the strength that shall be bore down unto them by our great nation. To our enemies I say this, drop your arms, return to your homes, to your families and your old lives. For the road you travel down now is not one of righteousness, but one of self destruction that will see your world crash around you. To the American people as I am sure my countrymen will agree, we offer you our support in all manners of recovery, we offer you our thoughts and prayers, and we offer you our arms as I am confident my fellow members of the African Union will also do for you. However, people of America I beg of you to keep in mind that these attacks are not in the name of Islam nor sanctioned by our faith...It was hate, hate based in ignorance, fear, and poverty that used our faith as a cover for their devilish ambitions. And it is that very hate we shall destroy, Inshalllah. Thank You, and Goodnight. UN Security Council Resolutions 1390 and 1391: Early 2002 The first of the resolutions, UNSCR 1390 proposed the creation of an official UN security force to restore order and expel terrorist groups from Iraq. If passed, this resolution would officially sanction the activities of nations who invade Iraq in order to depose the government of Saddam Hussein, which is declared by the resolution's sponsors (Turkey and Egypt) to be a shelter for Al-Qaeda terrorists, including those who may have connections to the attack on American last year. Forces participating in this operation and all subsequent counter-terrorism and peacekeeping activities within Iraq would be granted the right to use UN symbols such as blue helmets and UN-marked vehicles. UN member states with the means to participate in this operation would be officially encouraged to do so. The rules of the voting procedure went as followed: only states that are UN members could vote, all members & non-members of the UNSC may vote on the resolution to show their position, and only the 5 permanent members may veto, with the UK voting in favor and France abstaining by the time it was posted. The ratings agree, disagree and useful were used to denote whether one is in favor, against, or abstaining. Due to Eurasia's veto, the resolution failed. However, the Eurasian delegation presented an alternative proposal, this being UNSCR 1391; As a last chance, this measure demands that Iraq prove it has abandoned its WMD programs, explain the full extent the program achieved, and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect all relevant facilities to this program, past and present. It further demands that all involvements between the government of Iraq and Al-Qaeda be fully disclosed, so that nations evaluating the presence of terrorists may decide on a course of action with the fullest of information. The voting procedure remained unchanged, and by the posting of this resolution, the UK and France voted in favor of it. With unanimous approval from all current and permanent members of the Security Council, the resolution passes. Ultimatums 5 Preview: Early 2002 Good governance in a world thrown into crisis requires the creation of certainty. Demanded by citizens and depended upon by investors, a crisis of certainty was quickly beginning to envelop the globe. When the most powerful nation on earth, victor of the Cold War and Heir Apparent to the 21st Century could be struck by a nuclear bomb and not even know where to retaliate afterwards was as remarkable as it was terrifying. Governments would use many approaches to try and re-obtain this lost certainty, from economic stimulus to legislation, but only one method proved truly decisive in this environment: The ultimatum. With this tool, the limitless possibilities were narrowed to exactly two. An opponent accused of harboring terrorists, sympathizing with them, or sharing their ideals would be given the opportunity to either meet the world’s demands or face the consequences. In three nations of the tumultuous Muslim world, ultimatums were issued that would be seen in retrospect as the true start of the Global War on Terror. In Turkey Less than five years had passed since the infamous military memorandum, but the attacks in America had greatly undermined the people’s confidence in the government once again as they demanded a greater separation of religion from the state’s affairs. The economy remained in crisis, and few solutions were offered to dig the nation out of stagnation. Rumors swirled as ministers and politicians were accused of having connections to Islamist groups, even Al-Qaeda, when they failed to take significant action against the possibility of terrorist attack. And so another memorandum came, another ultimatum. The government was to resign and handover power to a caretaker administration as snap elections were arranged. When this didn’t happen, tanks appeared in the streets as government offices from post offices up were occupied and cities locked down. The Peace at Home Council, consisting of top military brass and headed by the Chief of the General Staff Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu, took control once again in order to “save Ataturk’s dream of a secular, modern Turkey.” Military commissions arrested the government and set up tribunals to determine who had violated the founding ideals of Kemalism. A new path has been set for Turkey. In Iraq The next ultimatum would not come from within, but from the highest intergovernmental body on earth. As the Junta in Turkey formulated its foreign policy, it accused its neighbors in Iraq of sheltering terrorists and continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction. Calling Hussein a threat to the whole world, the Junta put forth a resolution to sanction the invasion of Iraq. When this was shot down by Eurasia, the world’s largest nation put down its own counter-resolution, calling on the Iraqis to disclose their full relationship with Al-Qaeda and fully disclose its WMD program. This resolution saw unanimous accord in the UN Security Council, though it did not satiate the Turks. For those looking in at the Iraqi government, it was soon clear that the second resolution would achieve as little as the first. Saddam had fallen into a mania, increasingly isolated from the advice of his top generals, still distraught over the assassination of his favorite son, and full of hubris in his own ability for his impending triumph over arch nemesis Iran. His government was ordered to denounce the resolution as imperialism and prepare for war with the outsiders. As Turkey rounded up a coalition and marched into Iraqi Kurdistan, it appeared another clash in the region was inevitable, and the only question was how long it would take. In Sudan Since its peaceful transition to democracy, Egypt had been positioning itself as a beacon of democracy on the African continent, the defender of the oppressed peoples who had suffered from imperialism and later despots. With two of these despots on its own borders, distaste for the governments of Omar Al-Bashir and Mummar Gaddafi had been growing to a breaking point. The ultimatum delivered to Sudan demanded the end of Bashir’s rule and the restoration of human rights in accordance with African Union principles. With fresh atrocities to the south and the speculated hosting of Al-Qaeda terrorists who had brought such evil to the world, a military solution seemed to be all that remained. Egyptian maneuvers on the border, the delivery of arms support to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, and aerial incursions over Darfur all signalled the approach of what would be another large conventional war between regional powers. Egyptian forces also marched to the border with Libya, prepared to stop any intervention in favor of the Sudanese. While no WMDs were in play, the potential scale of the brewing war has the whole world on edge. Treaty of Marseilles: May 5, 2002 The Treaty of Marseilles was submitted for ratification on the 5th of May, 2002, to the European Union. It contained the following: • The Three Pillars System is abolished. • In addition, Common Security and Defense policy should entrust the High Commissioner with the ability to demand member states raise their spending and maintain readiness. The Commissioner may impose sanctions if goals are ignored. • The European Fiscal Compact is tightened. New standards for general budget deficits have been imposed. The new terms define a balanced budget as a general budget deficit not exceeding 2.75% of the gross domestic product (GDP). New Medium-Term-Budgetary Objectives have been issued across the member states and vary between them. These reforms are necessary for a stronger Eurozone as the Euro is adopted. • Article 48: Owing to the urgency of this proposal, member states have only 6 months to ratify this treaty. Also owing to this treaty's rushed nature, future amendments to the treaty require only a qualified majority. This should allow the body to be more responsive to its future needs. • Intra-EU cooperation now only requires the assent of the two or more member states participating in the initiative. This expands access to EU instruments and resources for these member states seeking to expand their cooperation. • The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive shall regulate the prevention of bank crises and ensure the orderly resolution of failing banks, while minimizing their impact on the real economy and on public finances. Japanese Prime Minister’s Statement: July 15, 2002 "Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, distinguished members of the Senate and the House, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Eleven months ago, as you may recall, the city of New York was attacked, in a most vicious fashion, with a nuclear weapon. The Japanese peoples knew of the suffering and chaos caused by such an event, having been attacked ourselves twice sixty years ago, in the crucible of the most horrible conflict our nation has ever known. As such, we sent assistance to our loyal ally, the United States, in order to repair the damage, and lent our assistance in knowing of the damage that nuclear weapons can cause. However, it is important to know who caused this disaster, so that other peoples are not at threat. As such, our intelligence agencies and nuclear scientists worked with the American CIA to determine the origin of both the weapon used and the identity of the attackers. After a lengthy investigation, it has been deduced that the Plutonium used in the weapon was of Chinese origin. We had originally suspected that the weapon was constructed somewhere in the troubled regions, be it Pakistan, Iran, or perhaps even from our Korean ally’s northern neighbours. However, we did not expect that such a terrible act could have been perpetrated by a country that could have been considered respectable. Our suspicions, and that of the CIA, were confirmed in interviews with surviving associates of the terrorists involved in the nuclear attack. They related to us that materials used to construct the weapon were delivered to them by agents of Chinese origin. We believe that these agents were in the employ of the Chinese government. The government of our nation has no clear idea of why the Chinese government supported this action, but it is clear that the Chinese government had some hand in the attack on New York. The United States is unlikely to spare China any clemency when the actions of the Chinese took the lives of more than 14,000 American citizens. As a friend of the Americans, the Japanese government shares this burden. Whilst we were not attacked directly, an attack like that of eleven months ago could occur here. We will not go to war over this of our own accord, but we must take steps to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the peoples of Japan. Therefore, I have instructed the coast guard to begin tracking and searching all cargo ships heading from Chinese ports at least 100 kilometers away from our coast. Additionally, the JMSDF and JASDF have been placed on high alert. Any Chinese military vessels or aircraft within 120 kilometers of our coastline will be given a chance to turn around. Any action contrary to our commands will be regarded as an act of war. This policy will take affect five days from now. Japan will not take any offensive action outside of our exclusion zone. We are not seeking war. We learnt the consequences of unchecked aggression sixty years ago. However, it seems that the Politburo has not. Destabilizing actions around the world will draw a response. From the bottom of my heart to the Japanese people, we will get through this, and I hope, with not a drop of blood spilled." ~ Prime Minister of Japan Yoshiro Mori This was the one of the final addresses of Yoshiro Mori to the Diet before he stepped down from the Prime Minister's office. Presidential Address to the Nation: July 23, 2002 The following was a Live Transmission from the Oval Office. My fellow Americans, I come with grave news that has shaken me to my very core. As you all well know, last year a terrible attack took place that took the lives of thousands of innocent lives. The pictures of ruined buildings and boroughs, the corpses littering the streets, and the raging fires that took weeks to put down are still ingrained in all our heads. Since then, I have worked tirelessly with our intelligence agencies, as well as our allies, to discover the root cause of this attack. From this, we found links to Al-Qaeda, however they did not make a weapon of such power, rather, they were supplied one. When we interrogated one of the terrorists, we were informed that Chinese involvement was how these terrorists gained a nuclear weapon. I do not know why China would do such a thing, nor why it would hurt itself to get at us, however this is a clear attack on the United States, its people, and its interests, and we will not stand idle as the blood of thousands goes unavenged. Later this month, the United States will present its full findings to the UN General Assembly as well as the Security Council. Along with this, if required, we will sponsor and support a resolution that would strip China of its nuclear capabilities, both present and future, as the only course of action that suits the crime without resorting to a violent, bloody war. And if China refuses to acknowledge the authority and power of the United Nations, as well as the United States, we will be forced into the path of war. I took an oath when I first took office to uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and its people, from any tyranny, no matter what form or shape it took. And I shall continue to do so as long as I am in office and breathing. I will not allow the Chinese government to go free from this crime against humanity and I shall see to it that anyone and everyone personally responsible will be tried in an international court of law. From my hospital bed, I watched how the American people united together, no matter their race, creed, religion, identity, or political ideology, and worked to rebuild what we had lost. I hear the chant even now, "Never Forget". With this, a memorial must be placed in Brooklyn to remind us of those we had lost and how we will never forget them, the true, pure, and bright Americans they were. Thank you for your time, and God Bless the United States of America. UN Security Council Resolutions 1394, 1395 and 1396: Late 2002 Soon, the next UNSC came around, with UNSCR 1394, as requested by the German delegation; If passed, this resolution will demand Egypt to pull all troops outside Libya and Sudan immediately. It will also demand that the African Union denounce Egypt's acts as aggression and move their headquarters out of Egypt. Furthermore, it will demand Turkey & her Coalition to pull out of Iraq and leave Iraq's future to UNSC. The current status quo in Iraq would not be recognized and the partition would be ordered reversed. The parties addressed in this resolution will have two weeks of real time to comply, and if they do not show compliance another vote will decide on consequences. With the voting procedures are unchanged from the last two votes, France signaled it will vote in favor, while the UK would abstain. The Egyptian delegation stated that its government will pull all forces out of Libya, but that military intervention in Sudan would continue until the regime of Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown, while the Japanese delegation floated the amendment to the bill that whilst the Sunni and Shia states will be reconnected, Kurdistan will remain independent. The resolution's relative unpopularity would lead to the proposal of UNSCR 1395, which contains the following: Egypt's invasion of Sudan and Libya are to be sanctioned by the UN. Member states are encouraged to take part and an international peacekeeping force is to be set up to administer the Egyptian forces' role in Sudan, and make sure of their withdrawal by the end of the intervention. Afterwards, the fate of Libya and Sudan are to be decided by the UNSC. Demand Turkey & her Coalition to pull out of Iraq and leave Iraq's future to the UNSC. The current status quo in Iraq is not recognized and partition is ought to be reversed, and another action taken. Consequences are open ended; addressed parties have 2 weeks to act upon the passing of the resolution, and if they fail to comply or show progress in compliance, another UNSC meeting should be scheduled to decide on the consequences. At the start, the UK voted in favor. The following would occur: --- Japanese UN Representative: The Japanese government submits the following documents to all members of the UN here today in support of the following resolution. CIA/DoE Investigation Report: Mr. President, Our scientists and intelligence experts have been working with full diligence to uncover the perpetrators of the 11/9 attacks. Our findings are of the most disturbing nature. We'll start with the raw facts. The Department of Energy has been working overtime to retrieve as much of the remaining fissile material from the seabed as possible. We hoped to confirm the origin from the device by comparing to samples of Pakistani plutonium. There was no match. While the device itself matched Pakistani specifications, we now believe the bomb used Chinese plutonium. China has never supplied plutonium to Pakistan as far as we are aware. We have been interrogating the recent arrivals from Iraq at our facility at Guantanamo Bay. One of them offered information that would corroborate the above. He said that no external contact had made contact with Bin Laden, but that he had served as a courier in Pakistan for Al-Qaeda and delivered a message to him from our external agent, describing the agent as of Asian appearance. When we showed him stock images of several Asian ethnicities, he responded most affirmatively to those matching Han Chinese characteristics. He urged us to "stop killing Muslims when the Chinese are manipulating us all." Japanese UN Representative: The following information, it is important to note, has been verified by both the American joint investigation and our own defence intelligence headquarters. I hope the members of the house and the security council will take this evidence into account in regards to the following resolution. --- The Vietnamese delegation would point out the uncertainty of the document, stating that Chinese plutonium just meant that it was processed in China, not that China had any implication in the incident. The Egyptian delegation would chime in, wanting to go further into the investigation before any moves were made to forcibly disarm a nation of its nuclear stockpile, not wanting to accept the report given as hard fact. The American delegation was quick to mention how it was plutonium processed in China delivered by a Chinese agent, considering that fact alone as suspicious, but the Vietnamese delegation would swiftly strike back, pointing out how they were quick to push for the Chinese conspiracy with little evidence while it's clear it was Islamists who pulled the trigger anyway. The Chinese delegation would add onto this, asking why they would trust the information of someone who worked for Al-Qaeda without at least questioning it a little bit. The Peace at Home Council declared that it would continue its neutrality in these affairs until more solid evidence could be discovered. Until then, the Council would continue to turn over all discovered terrorist operatives in the free nations of Jazira, Iraq and Kurdistan with assistance from local, democratically elected representatives. Vietnam condemned the US's unprovoked and unsupported verbal attacks on China, who had "provided nothing but good economic ties to the US for several decades now." The discussion would inevitably lead to the failure of the resolution, leading into the proposal of UNSCR 1396, sponsored by the United States of America. If passed, the resolution would have the following effects: China would have to open their plutonium stocks for investigation by the United Nations/United States to look for any logs of production/movement of plutonium within and out of the country. It would also call for an investigation of Chinese intelligence agencies by the United Nations/United States to look for any agents/workers that had access to the plutonium stocks, as well as having the connections to export it out of the country, as well as call for China to halt production of fissile materials for the duration of the investigation. It would be this resolution that would finally be passed. The Summer of Fear 6 Preview: Late 2002 War of the Words 1 Nobody could have predicted the direction the accusation that came from Prime Minister Mori’s final speech. For months, intelligence agencies had been scrambling to determine which terrorist group or rogue state actor could have possibly granted Al-Qaeda the capability to wreak such great destruction. China, who had been involved only in the most insignificant diplomatic spats with the United States, was at the bottom of the list for spies and pundits alike. After all, trade between the two constituted the single largest economic axis in the world for some time now. Most believed a motive simply didn’t exist. So when Mori made his resignation speech, it was presumed that he had either gone senile or once again made some kind of elaborate gaffe. It certainly electrified the public’s imagination, having long been deprived of any serious conclusions. China was infuriated and demanded evidence, and ties between the two rapidly evaporated. For a week, however, China seemed to be receiving the benefit of the doubt. Imagine the shock that swept over the world, then, when President Gore, still showing his scars, appeared in a pre-recorded Oval Office statement to make the exact same accusation. The Department of Energy had seemingly delivered a smoking gun- trace amounts of the plutonium used in the bomb, retrieved from under the former location of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge by divers. The nature of plutonium makes it traceable to its origin, and the DoE was able to match it to the remote Lop Nur region of Xinjiang, where the Chinese had historically mined their plutonium reserves and conducted nuclear tests. The CIA had also provided its own evidence vis a vis an Al-Qaeda operative who had been captured by the Turks in Iraq and deported to Guantanamo Bay. In his recorded testimony, he claimed the agent who had first offered a nuclear weapon to Bin Laden via his courier service matched Han Chinese appearance and implored the US to end its actions against Muslim nations, claiming China had ultimate responsibility. As the news sunk in, a furor swept both sides of the Pacific. Republican hawks as well as many Democrats called for war with China, and it was thought that Congress might even try to declare war on China without the president’s approval. Massive anti-Chinese protests rocked New York and other cities, and enlistment in the military skyrocketed. In China, similar anti-US protests crowded the streets as the government denounced the accusations of governmental involvement as an “imperialist lie.” China said that it had been a victim of terrorism by some other force that wanted to drive the two powers against each other. It seemed a third great war was inevitable. The global economy rode a rollercoaster as defense stocks boomed and consumer goods went bust. Desperate to avoid this conflict, the United Nations stepped in and offered to help the nations of the world come up with a clearer understanding of the situation. Eager to cool the war frenzy, both the US and China agreed to an international investigation that would open up the Chinese plutonium stocks to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The fate of the world hung in the balance as the investigation began. The Paper Trail 2 Lop Nur and the rest of the Xinjiang region had been under a tight lockdown for some time. With intense unrest and violent attacks by the Muslim minorities of the region occurring several times over the past year, media had been shut out and travel restricted. People thought to be connected to these separatist organizations had been declared terrorists and frequently disappeared under the cover of darkness, never to be seen again. By the time foreign investigators arrived, the Chinese had already dug up huge files showing employee lists for the plutonium mines and refineries, and even arrested five engineers from the refinery. These engineers all had backgrounds in the region, coming from local Uyghur and Hui groups. According to the government, all five had the means to obtain plutonium that had been set aside for power generation, and two of the men had the know-how to build a bomb. One of the men, suspect “Alim,” even had the permissions necessary to requisition plutonium for distribution to power plants or medical institutions that requested them, and several such requests on file were found to be falsified and signed by him. Travel records showed three as having travelled to Pakistan, Afghanistan, or both, while logged text messages and emails appeared to offer damning evidence of contact with separatists who were thought to be linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It seemed like the Chinese had been totally absolved. Of course, this was all too perfect for the western investigators, especially the United States, whose investigators wanted total access to the suspects and refused to accept their signed confessions as proof of their guilt. The Chinese balked at this, saying that they were criminals against the State and must be tried on Chinese soil in a trial that the Americans could view but would not be allowed to participate in. Dissatisfied with this proposition, the commission began to search for family, friends, and business contacts of the suspects in an attempt to determine if these men really had the character that would cause them to carry out the attacks. Yet, as they went door to door to speak with neighbors, it seemed nobody knew anyone who could tell them more about these men. Their families were all described as having disappeared, whether simply not showing up to work or being arrested for some small crime and never being released or heard from again. Others had been declared as having ties to terrorist groups themselves, and were swept up in the anti-terror campaign and executed in mobile lethal injection vans. The Americans were only growing more suspicious, and demanded unprecedented access to Chinese intelligence agency archives in Beijing. This access would never come. The Wounded Dragon 3 At noon on August 28th, 2002, the Politburo convened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to discuss this request. Optimism was not high for the American and other international investigators who had been invited to sit in on the closed meeting. Outside, international media gathered at Tiananmen Square to await the Party’s decision. Just before 2:00 PM, as the closing arguments were being presented, the sound of screeching tires and gunfire caught the attention of these journalists. A large semi truck and trailer barreled across the square towards the great hall at high speed. Machine guns placed outside the great hall made short work of the driver, but the weight and the speed of the vehicle saw it continue to plow forward and stop at the steps of the Great Hall. A bomb squad was quickly called into action to inspect the wreck. The last pictures to come out of Beijing showed a suited EOD expert approaching the trailer and attempting to open it with lock cutters. All broadcast feeds ended there. At 2:03 PM, central Beijing was consumed in a mushroom cloud identical to the one that consumed Brooklyn less than a year before. The 45 kiloton blast and ensuing radiation cloud would claim more than 107,000 lives by the end of the day. Nearly 300,000 people in this packed urban center would suffer adverse effects from the radiation or be injured in building collapses. Modern skyscrapers would tumble and the ancient Forbidden City would be reduced to ash. The first outsiders to arrive at the scene would describe it as hell on a scale unlike anything seen in Brooklyn, or even Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The entire Chinese government had been wiped out in one fell swoop, at a tremendous cost in civilian life. In order to prevent the entire nation from descending into anarchy, Vice-Chairman Guo Boxiong of the Central Military Commission declared emergency military rule by the People’s Liberation Army and set up shop in Guangzhou. The PLA put the whole country on lockdown for the foreseeable future. The System is Collapsing Epilogue An even greater shockwave than the first was now rolling across the world. Global markets sold off at a rate not seen since the Great Depression. Countries locked down their borders and nonessential travel evaporated. Runs were made on banks and several financial institutions went insolvent. Global trade, the driver of the new economic system, began to dry up with demand. Uncertainty ravaged the world. If the prime suspect had just been attacked in the same manner as their supposed victim, who could be responsible, and who was next? UN Security Council Resolution 1397: Late 2002 Following the nuclear strike in Beijing, the United States of America sponsored the UNSC Resolution 1397, which, if passed, would have the following effects: It would lead to the Creation of a multi-national anti-terrorist group with the following member nations: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Eurasia, China, Japan; subsequently named Third Echelon. Recruitment for Third Echelon comes from MI6, the CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies across the globe. The primary objectives of the group are as follows: counter-terrorism activities, investigation of terrorist activities across the globe, and investigation of the recent nuclear terrorist attacks. Third Echelon would have complete freedom of operation to conduct counter-terrorist activities, with oversight from the UN Security Council permanent members and report to the Big Five directly. It would also be funded by the United States to provide all the top equipment and gear to these brave soldierstwhile. An amendment was soon added, stating that after the terrorists are captured and or/eliminated and their network dismantled, the organization would be subsequently dissolved. Germany assumed the amendment's wording is about the terrorists responsible for the two acts of nuclear terrorism in the last year, and voted for the resolution on this condition. Vietnam would look to its own domestic security forces for counterterrorism purposes and abstained from the vote. Brazil and Turkey voted in favor, and volunteered to be part of Third Echelon, with the latter stating that it would now turn over any captured Al Qaeda representatives to UN authorities. The resolution would be passed, and Third Echelon would see its creation. Sino-Indian War Statements by the United States: October 2, 2002 "Members of the Security Council of the United Nations, The United States; • Condemns Chinese aggressive expansionism into Bhutan and calls upon other countries to do the same. • Calls for an immediate end to the conflict, with China releasing Bhutan back to being an independent country and India standing down • Encourages a non-aggression pact between the two nations, to repair ties between the two in light of recent events • Calls for China to cease expansion of its borders, lest there be consequences" ~ US Delegation to the United Nations Security Council UN Resolution 1399: Early 2003 The Egyptian Delegation would propose to the UN General Assembly the following UN Resolution 1399, which included the following: Egyptian Intelligence will continue to pursue, with support of fellow African intelligence agencies, the capture and arrest of Omar Al-Bashir so that he may be handed over to the Hague for trial. Free and Open elections will be held in Libya, with UN peacekeepers present to ensure that no rebel or pro-Gaddafi factions attempt to tamper with or prevent Elections. Egypt will contribute a force of 80,000 Troops to UN mandate, including dozens of aircraft, AFVs, and Tanks in Sudan to help re-train and rebuild the Sudanese military, as well as to continue the hunt and fight against any Al-Qaeda Insurgency. Free and Open Elections will be held in Sudan, with UN representatives, and peacekeepers, present to ensure elections are conducted smoothly. Egypt will assist in the rebuilding and modernization of Sudanese and Libyan Infrastructure, under UN mandate to repay damages caused by the war. The families of civilians that were wounded or killed during the war may seek compensation of some kind from the Egyptian government, however an investigation will be conducted before anything is paid. A strong military presence will be maintained, in the cities of Khartoum and the Port of Sudan to oversee possible shipments of weapons and bomb making materials and protect them form possible terrorist attacks. With the the UK's approval of this resolution, this resolution is soundly passed. History is Eternal Shitpost From the r/askalternatehistorians post of u/romanhistoryexpert in the thread: "what happened to constantinople in 851?" The 9th of November, 851 began like any other Friday for Constantinopolitans. The chills of autumn swirled through the streets as a stiff breeze blew to the northeast. Christmas celebrations had been filling the streets since the first of the month, and though many complained as they always did that it was much too early, others had already begun preparing for the holiday season. In Mangana, the whole quarter was abuzz as Emperor Constantine VIII arrived to give a noon speech at the Hagia Sophia followed by a meeting with a group of underprivileged pagans at the nearby Temple. Miles offshore, however, trouble was brewing. A Roman Navy dromon hailed a small Cimmerian flagged merchant ship heading into the port of Constantinople, only to receive no response. After several attempts to raise the crew, the dromon steamed along the port side and gave signals to halt. As this was occurring, the crew lowered a smaller but heavily laden longboat over the starboard side, which promptly took off towards Mangana. The dromon then lowered its own longboat to give chase. While they were unable to keep up, other Navy vessels were waiting for the rogue boat at the Golden Horn. They would not live to grasp the gravity of the threat they were facing. At high noon on November 9th, 851, eternity ended again. First a bright flash that would be seen across the city, followed by a roar that would be heard around the world and a storm of flames that would be seen from the hilltops. Estimates say that the fireball rose at least five hundred cubits into the sky. Much of Southern Mangana and The Bay of Theodoseus were reduced immediately to a wasteland, and ash began to spread northeast carried on the wind. Two carrier pigeons on approach to the Imperial Palace were blown out of the air by the massive gusts of wind. At the Constantinople Library, the Emperor was rushed into his fire-sealed carriage, but not before receiving a crippling dose of napalm to the face. Later, on July 23, 852, there was an Imperial Address to the Empire from the Imperial Palace: My fellow Romans, I come with grave news that has shaken me to my very core. As you all well know, last year a terrible attack took place that took thousands of innocent lives. The sight of ruined buildings and quarters, the corpses littering the streets, and the raging fires that took weeks to put down are still ingrained in all our heads. Since then, I have worked tirelessly with my spies, as well as our allies, to discover the root cause of this attack. From this, we found links to Cimmerian rebels, however they did not make a weapon of such power, rather, they were supplied one. When we interrogated one of the rebels, we were informed that Caliphate involvement was how these rebels gained Greek fire. N e v e r u s f o r g e t i a n u s Parties of the Iranian Majlis: Circa Late 2002 A strong left-to-far-left coalition, known as the 'New Front', dominates the political scene in Iran, as the recently ousted Ayatollah has taken with him most of the far right support. Nonetheless, the 'Guardsmen' coalition keeps the scales somewhat balanced, and threaten the hold of the New Front, regularly shooting down legislation and filibustering bills, no matter the content. UN Resolution 1400: Early 2003 Submitted by a German mission to the UN General Assembly, the UN Resolution 1400 contained the following: Control of Kurdistan would be left to KDP-PUK Peshmerga under UN supervision. A multinational UN mission (under which the former Coalition can provide help) will be dedicated to raising of an Iraqi army and police force, while acting as a security force temporarily. Kurdistan and Iraq, as long as they can provide the security of all civilian population centers, will schedule the referendums, two for Iraq, provided below: Iraqi Referendum: Part 1: Would you like Iraq to stay unified? 1) Yes 2) No Part 2: If Iraq stays unified, what type of government would you want? (Does not affect the autonomy of the KRG) 1) Federal 2) Unitary Kurdish referendum: Would you like to remain part of Iraq? 1) Yes 2) No An earlier version accidentally was submitted instead, containing a second part to the Kurdish referendum, asking if they would want to unite with Turkey. In the Security Council, the Turkish representatives spoke out on their lack of involvement in the resolution and criticized it on that point, with the American representatives standing alongside them. Soon, an amendment was made, and with it, the resolution was passed rather smoothly. Non-Proliferation Treaty 2.0: Early 2003 Germany would propose an amendment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in light of recent events, nicknamed the Non-Proliferation Treaty 2.0. Its contents include the following: The recognition of India and Pakistan as nuclear powers. The limiting of all nuclear powers' deployment to 300 strategic (>=100kt) and 500 tactical (<100kt) warheads, and stockpile only 2000 warheads of any kind. All signatories must be ,or become, members of the IAEA. All handling of material related to nuclear weapon production will be made public by all signatories and reports quarterly submitted to both UNODA and IAEA. Export controls of nuclear material are tightened, and IAEA should be made knowledgeable of all trade of nuclear materials happening. Proliferation of nuclear weapons to parties that are not recognized nuclear weapon holders is hereby made a crime. IAEA will have the authority to inspect all signatories' waste and fuel facilities for inspection, and UNODA nuclear warhead storage and deployment facilities for inventory count. Inspection of nuclear weaponry and warheads shall be limited only to inventory taking for purposes of disclosure. With its numbers being debatable and the treaty itself being amendable, Germany called for a rapid convening of the related meeting by all UN member states, including North Korea. Unfortunately, because of non-cooperating nations, Germany withdrew the proposal. As a result, Germany is giving a notice of withdrawal from the NPT, happening in 3 months as treaty requires. The Egyptian Delegation noted that, due to the failure of the German NPT, it would put forward a resolution in concerns to Nuclear Energy and Oversight of it. The Brussels Conference 7 Preview: April 7, 2003 Blitzer: Good morning, and welcome to the CNN Newsroom in Washington, D.C. I’m your host Wolf Blitzer, and if you’re just joining us we’re bringing you live coverage of the Conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation being hosted by the European Union at their Brussels headquarters at noon local time. For more on the subject, I’m going to turn it over to our Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Christie, from what I understand, it was actually German officials that called this meeting. Amanpour: That’s correct Wolf, while UN General Secretary Kofi Annan and many other world leaders including US Secretary of State Michael Dukakis are present, this initiative has been a major focus of Germany since their failure to pass a new non-proliferation treaty at the beginning of the year. In fact, the Chancellor Schröder has gone so far as to declare the current treaty “Grossly insufficient for the modern threat environment” and withdraw. That declaration becomes effective today after the three month’s notice, so while few believe that will have any impact on the global situation, the solution and direction proposed today be viewed with great interest worldwide. Blitzer: I’m sure policymakers here will be paying close attention to the new proposal, but we can’t be sure how they’ll be respond as it was the Gore administration who torpedoed the initial proposal, opting for a dramatic all or nothing approach. Career diplomats lambasted that decision for its uncompromising nature, but after the recent attacks, it seems they will go to any length to be absolutely certain nuclear terror doesn’t return to our soil again. Amanpour: That’s why it’s the reaction of the Gore administration that will be watched even more closely than perhaps that of the China or India, who have managed to keep their war conventional for now but have not made any offers to release their arsenals to the international community. North Korea has also declared its exit from the non-proliferation treaty, and while they are not yet a serious player in the nuclear game, the possibility of a bomb in the hands of Kim Jong-Il’s regime certainly makes neighbors take notice. Blitzer: It appears Chancellor Schröder is making his way onstage now, so we’ll turn it over to direct feed of his remarks. Schröder: Good day respected diplomats. As you know, it has long been the perspective of Germany and her people that we must stand against the proliferation of nuclear weapons which have wrought such destruction on the world. For decades, those who possessed weapons of mass destruction believed they existed as a guarantor of peace, a way of raising the stakes of war to become so great that the superpowers of the world would no longer have incentive to draw the world into conflict. In Germany, we relied on America’s atomic umbrella to protect our democracy from the threat of the Warsaw Pact. However, it seems the calculus has changed. In this world there are heartless terrorists who care not about these stakes, nor the value of the human lives they take. Twice now, this destructive power has fallen into their hands. To prevent this from happening again, we must take radical steps against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, else the threat will only grow every single day. Many nations are a mere screwdriver’s turn away from a nuclear weapon, and in this unstable environment, they have greater incentive than ever to build such weapons. Our American allies have made strident proposals and attempted to remove nuclear weapons from the world entirely. However, they ignored the wisdom of our founder, Otto von Bismarck. He said, “Die Politik ist die Lehre vom Möglichen (Politics is the art of the possible).” In making such great demands for total disarmament, they put forth a proposal, that unlike ours, was not achievable. When we proposed something more plausible, they shot it down as insufficient. However, in dealings of such great consequence, we must accept any progress that is within the realm of possibility. Today we are going to show you what is possible if we do not make such significant progress. Blitzer: Certainly harsh words for the leadership in Washington, but it’s hard to be sure what he is actually proposing. There is a large diplomatic container being wheeled out now, so let’s listen in and see what direction he takes this. Amanpour: He’s opening the container now. Wow. Could that be... It appears to be a mockup of a nuclear weapon. Schröder: What you see before you is a real nuclear bomb of the same destructive power as those that struck America and China. It has a yield of 45 kilotons. It took our engineers a matter of days to assemble this weapon using fissile materials refined at one of our power plants and the advanced machine tools available here in Germany. Make no mistake, however- any nation or rogue actor could construct such a device given time. Blitzer: Absolutely incredible. If what he’s saying is true... has Germany just become a nuclear power? Schröder: We do not mean this act as any sort of provocation. After this meeting is adjourned, this weapon will be handed over to the NATO stockpile here in Belgium. What we ask is that Germany, India, Pakistan, and Israel are recognized as nuclear powers. Though it is not our nation’s intention to possess atomic weaponry in the foreseeable future, we must consider every nation with such capacity a potential threat and subject them to full inspections. That is why we are urging all nations to reassess our prior agreement. We realize that our means of bringing the urgency of this matter to your attention is unorthodox, but hope that our intentions will not be misunderstood and that this will serve as a wake-up call to all nations on the threat of nuclear weapons. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to discussing a resolution to this matter in the near future. Amanpour: Truly a stunning display. Reactions are already beginning to pour in from across the web. The audience looks truly stunned at the display they’ve seen today. Blitzer: Very unexpected, stay tuned to CNN as we bring you continued coverage of this revelation as it continues to develop.... --- The nuclear triad produced by Germany in the future will be placed under the equal dual command of EU Commission President, elected by the people's parliament under our new proposed final EU treaty, and the German Chancellor. Neither will have the authority to authorize a strike alone. It is purely for the defense of the European Union, as neither France nor UK have the well-being of Europe at first priority in their possession of nuclear capabilities. We intend to integrate it into the European Army Central Command. Statement from the White House Press Briefing: April 8, 2003 "The United States of America expresses its disapproval toward the Federal Republic of Germany's message. The world should be rid of nuclear weapons, not threatening it with more, and this message only goes to encourage rogue factions or nations to continue their progress toward building weapons of mass destruction. How many more lives must be lost before we, as a species, finally understand? We must look toward immediate disarmament of nuclear weapons and the capability to create such weapons and instead look toward using nuclear energy. We will be working on another solution that seeks to rid the world of nuclear weapons once and for all. We will not be taking any comments or questions at this time until we further survey the situation at hand." ~President of the United States of America Al Gore, who exited followed by a flurry of reporter questions Treaty on European Constitution: Early 2003 This is the treaty put forward by Germany following demands for "a stronger, more integrated, and more accountable European Union as an absolute necessity for preservation of the post-World War Two order in Europe," it details the following; This treaty is proposed: • To speed up with the establishing of better, stronger European Institutions, especially required in times of crisis such as these; • To construct a more capable EU with less asterisks attached, for strength comes through unity, red tape and redundancy is burden, and compromises with member states shouldn't be made at other members' disadvantage; • To address the deficit of Democracy in the European Institutions; • To address the shortcomings of the Euro; • To address the lack of a unified, strong Security approach that can meet the requirements of today's world, and against the new threats the European Union faces; --- CONSTITUTIONAL --- • Reinstitute the symbols of Europe. Anthem, flag, name etc. • Wholly abolish all opt outs of all states. * (Compromise to just in areas of freedoms, civil rights, security and justice. Other areas can be talked upon later) • Merge all the previous treaties with this treaty to form a single treaty for the Constitution of the European Union. This will be the final intergovernmental treaty to be signed. • EU CFSP: • Implement channels for better information exchange between secret services and police in regards to terrorism. • Shape the EU military doctrine to allow conflicts that defend the European Interests be fought anywhere, and "preemptive" wars that defend EU interests from future threats. The commission can act alone in a limited manner, and must take it to the Parliament and the Council in order to declare War. The parliament and the council can give the Commission the power to do more without declaring war if they see fit. • Army: Put bluewater naval forces under joint EU-Nation command. * (Compromisable) • Put nuclear devices of countries under joint EU-Nation command. * (Compromisable) • The power to amend the treaties establishing the European Union is given to the EU as a legislative procedure, proceeding in the EU as any other legislation, however, require a 2/3s of National Parliaments representing majority population, or National Parliaments representing 2/3s of population, to accept it. • Introduce Expulsion. If a country continues not being cooperative with the EU after being sanctioned, EU parliament can start the process of the Expulsion of that state from the Union. After getting approved by the Parliament and the Council, Expulsion needs to be approved by 2/3s * (Compromise: 80%, or if we have to, unanimous among remaining members) of the National Parliaments representing at least a majority of the population. --- INSTITUTIONS --- • Commission: • No more 1 per member. A set amount of commissioners: 20 commissioners for 20 ministries. • No more appointment. Parties in parliament propose cabinet members, from the parliament, or not a member of another EU or national body (or might resign from post after being accepted to the commission.) Both Council and Parliament absolute majority accepts. • Make budget pass with consensus from the Council and the Parliament. No budget passes without controlled by the Court of Auditors. • Organise the commission into a multitude of ministries, instead of portfolios, including a reasonably powerful ministry of finance. Commission should be able to decide whom to provide financial aid alone, consulting relevant other institutions for its decision-making and being able to provide reasoning, of course. • In addition to Parliament being able to dissolve the Commission with a no-confidence vote, let National Parliaments be able to dissolve the Commission after 2/3s representing at least 50% of the population provide a vote of no confidence in accordance to their respective Constitutions, or if they lack such a procedure, by the German method or, if inapplicable, by their Government. • Council: • Turn this into something more reminiscent of an Upper House representing Member States. • 2 Councillors per state. In effect, sort of like replacing the European Council. No more ministers traveling; Ministers will be cooperating with Commissioners responsible for their position. • Introduce voting weights based on the square root of the population. * (Compromise only if absolutely necessary to equal votes. Less important than the Parliament compromise, so try this before that) • Each country sends in their Councillors based on rules they desire, as long as they send 2 Councillors, they might be elected or appointed. • Parliament: • Share of constituencies per country geared for a direct representation of the European People. Low population countries can be represented in larger constituencies with other countries. System with 375 constituencies based on German MMP with 375 direct representatives and 375 representatives from party list.* (Compromise ONLY IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY: FPTP, Share of 750 direct constituencies per member is based on the square root of the population. Rest stay the same.) • The European Council: Scrapped. Executive powers merged with the Commission. • On all qualified voting, requirements on majority membership representation should be void if 2/3s of the population is represented. This means either both majorities in membership and population, OR a 2/3s in population. • CEB: • Voting weights based on percent GDP of the country for national members. * (Compromisable, First to square root of the population, if even that is unacceptable then status quo 1 vote per member) • National Parliaments shouldn't be able to block legislative process of the EU (orange card). When a majority of national governments or governments representing a majority population object, law can go into review (yellow card). • Laws on all subjects can be introduced by all 3 institutions. Decisions can be met by the Council and Parliament, and Directives are issued by the Commission. If the Parliament and the Council see fit, they may confer any legislative authority regarding Decisions and Regulations to the Commission. • Establish the Public Prosecutors' Office of the EU. To prosecute all * (Compromise: just financial) crimes committed under EU laws with jurisdiction of whole EU, and able to bring cases both to National courts or delegate them to National prosecutors, or directly to the ECJ. • Expand the EU Prosecution or Courts if required/overwhelmed. --- ECONOMY --- • 50% increase the EU budget.* (Amount compromisable/debatable) • Fiscal Compact: Countries that want to implement extraordinary measures can do so by getting it approved by the European Council on the judgement of the Court of Auditors. • Disallow member states from keeping sweetheart tax deals with individual countries secret. Turko-French Weapon Sales Deal: Early 2003 In accordance of this deal, France will authorize the sale of military equipment to the Republic of Turkey. The units to be sold are as follows: • x60 Dassault Mirage 2000D @ €26,000,000 per unit & perpetual maintenance (will vary) Batch cost: €1,560,000,000 • x15,000 FAMAS F1 5.56mm @ €1450 per unit Batch cost: €21,750,000 • x150 GIAT VAB @ €90,000 per unit Batch cost: €13,500,000 • x35 PGM Hécate II @ €17,000 per unit Batch cost: €595,000 Total: €1,595,845,000 + maintenance/supply UN Security Council Resolution 1398: Late 2003 Proposed by the Chinese delegation, UNSC Resolution 1398 dealt with the Reform of Third Echelon: Due to recent internal reports regarding the administration of Third Echelon, the current administration of China is sponsoring this resolution that would reform the leadership of Third Echelon into a democratic, transparent one where all seven member states would have a say in how the organization is run. If voted for, this resolution would reform Third Echelon's leadership into a 7-member board, one from each of the 7 states of the TE in order to prevent one state from becoming too powerful within the governing framework of the organization. This board will make decisions regarding recruitment and counter terrorism operations. The resolution was swiftly passed. UN Security Council Resolution 1399: Late 2003 Proposed by the Egyptian delegation, UNSC Resolution 1399 continued the discussion regarding Third Echelon: Agents of the Egyptian General Intelligence Department have found, and reported to Third Echelon, the eastern coast of Somalia and its inward possessions to be heavily occupied by Al-Qaeda in Somalia forces and to be in collusion with Pirates and Warlords in the region. The Somali government and military have of thus far been unable to oust these global threats to peace from their midst and it is up to the nations of the world to help our struggling neighbors. It is with this knowledge that We put forward the following points towards UN Security Council Resolution 1399: A UN Coalition will be created to assist the Somali Government in ousting terrorists, their allies, and affiliates from Somalian Soil. A UN Peacekeeping force 200,000 strong will be kept in Somalia until the government has full control of its sovereign territory and the terrorist threat is deemed to have been eradicated. Third Echelon will launch operations to capture and interrogate leading terrorist figures in Somalia to find their sources of funding and manpower. UN Military advisers from willing nations will help assist in the re-organization and betterment of the Somalian military so that the sovereignty of the nation may never be infringed upon again. With the Egyptian delegation voting in favor of this resolution, it was swiftly passed. Non-Proliferation Treaty 3.0: Late 2003 After the failure of the proposed NPT 2.0, Germany would once more propose an amendment/replacement to the original NPT: #All NPT's core tenets. This treaty is designed to replace the NPT. #Recognize Israel, European Union, Japan, India and Pakistan as nuclear powers. No country that is not recognized as a Nuclear Power by this treaty should ever research or develop nuclear weapons.. A country can be recognized or removed as a nuclear state after being sanctioned by 2/3s majority of the UNGA and a qualified vote by the UNSC. #If a nuclear power with a significant stockpile isnt a part of the treaty, elimination of the nuclear weapons can be paused until the situation is resolved. #Limit all nuclear powers' deployment to 50 strategic (>=100kt) and 250 tactical (<100kt) warheads, and stockpile only 500 warheads of any kind. #All signatories must be, or become, members of the IAEA. #All handling of material related to nuclear weapon production will be made public by all signatories and reports quarterly submitted to both UNODA and IAEA. #Export controls of nuclear material are tightened, and IAEA should be made knowledgeable of all trade of nuclear materials happening. #Proliferation of nuclear weapons to parties that are not recognized nuclear weapon holders is hereby made a crime. #IAEA will have the authority to inspect all signatories' waste and fuel facilities for inspection, and UNODA nuclear warhead storage and deployment facilities for inventory count. ""Inspection of nuclear weaponry and warheads shall be limited only to inventory taking for purposes of disclosure. #Within a year after this treaty is signed by at least 3 Permanent Members of the UNSC, withdrawal or failure to sign or ratify the treaty should be grounds for investigation, by UNSC or if need be, by UNGA. Since this is a treaty, these was no option to abstain from the vote, with the option to open a discussion and negotiate a potential change to the treaty being given instead. This treaty would see itself be passed. The Backlash Against the System 8 Preview 1: Late 2003 Not since the 1930s had an American presidential election generated such interest, such division, and such anticipation. The country was still recovering from a nuclear attack, both in the physical and psychological sense. The economy was in shambles as prices skyrocketed and many imported goods simply did not appear on shelves. It had begun to claw its way back from the brink, but to the very poorest on the ground everything looked the same. People were hungry, not only for food, but for revenge on terrorism and whoever could possibly be responsible for plunging the world into this abyss. With the massive frustration floating about, any chance to make a change was valued. That chance would come in the form of the 2004 presidential elections. As primary season took off, a number of competing messages emerged. The choice for Democratic nomination would, obviously, be President Gore. He went into the campaign with a solid 63% approval rating, better numbers than his predecessor put up eight years before. Much of the nation still saw him as tantamount to a martyr, viewing the scars of various operations on his face and hands as the collective scars of the nation. To the lowest of the low, the urban poor, his provision of free health insurance and work programs made him the second coming of Lincoln. Democrats simply pointed to his approval ratings and got to work formulating the next four years of White House policy. The first few months of the Republican campaign were a political cage fight of veteran GOP heavyweights. In corner one stood former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. With a traditional conservative platform, he had mainstream appeal and could go toe to toe with Gore. He had been in the room with the President that fateful day, and bore many of the same scars. If Gore tried to appeal to voters using his experience on 11/9, Giuliani could do this even better. The difference was that it was his city that had been attacked, the one he had been working to rebuild before being forced to step down to take medical leave. In the next corner stood veteran Senator John McCain of Arizona. Bearing scars of his own from his time in Vietnamese POW camps, McCain positioned himself as the only candidate who could be a competent Commander in Chief, taking on any terrorist group or, if need be, nation. Finally, there was Mitt Romney. The former Bain Capital CEO and management consultant who had organized a heartfelt tribute to 11/9 victims at the 2002 Winter Olympics had his quirks, namely his affiliation to the LDS Church, but was viewed by most economists as the top choice to fix the mangled wreck that was the US and global economic system. He was the pragmatic choice. This was not a pragmatist’s election, however. Feelings were running high among all Americans. There were sentiments not yet tapped by the messages coming from the media. And one man was there to tap them: Donald Trump The image of the property magnate descending on his golden escalator in Trump tower to announce his candidacy was immediately the subject of ridicule and amusement. Later it emerged that all the adoring fans were paid $50 for their presence at the announcement. The sound bytes from his opening speech caused outrages of epic proportions. He accused Giuliani of being incompetent in failing to prevent the attack despite the role increased security had played in preventing a much worse outcome. He characterized McCain as something less than a war hero for being captured. His attacks on Romney were perhaps the most savage: “We got hundreds of people like this guy in this country. Globalists. They tie up their investments in foreign countries that are killing us on trade. They ship our jobs across to China, Vietnam, wherever. Then when it all goes south they come crawling back to the government, taking your tax money to bail them out.” The orange mogul would ramble on and on about Gore’s time spent in the hospital instead of leading the country, his massive overt and covert spending, and inability to “make a good deal” on nuclear weapons, instead absurdly demanding the whole world disarm. Instead, he promised he would use his business acumen to make good deals that would lift the country out of these tough times. Of course, pundits would point out that his track record was spotty at best. To the common person, though, he looked like Rich Uncle Moneybags coming to bring prosperity to the nation. It was like watching satire to those observing the election. Surely a nutcase like this didn’t stand a chance? China, Inc. 8 Preview 2: Late 2003 By the time the Second Sino-Indian War reached its first anniversary, the Himalayas had become littered with bodies of tens of thousands of soldiers. Outside observers put the casualty count of the war between the world’s two most populous nations at between 200,000 and 400,000 soldiers. More than two thirds of these casualties were Indians, the price paid for the jingoistic attitude with which the ultranationalist government had entered the conflict. They had expected that the destruction of Beijing and their exploitation of the ensuing chaos would grant them an easy victory. Instead they found bitter fighting against heavily prepared defenses in mountain passes that swallowed up all the men and machines that dared to enter. As their leaders urged them further and further in spite of the cost, the Indians failed to solidify their gains. The Chinese spring offensive of 2003 saw almost everything they had shed blood for washed away in a human wave, as China unleashed its massive manpower reserves and the PLAAF, which had spend most of the war on the tarmac and relied on the prepared SAM defenses, was unleashed upon the supply bases and airfields in the Indian rear. Humiliated, the ruling BJP ultranationalists were forced out of office by mass demonstrations of soldier’s wives and family members, and a new centrist government took over with a mandate to negotiate peace with China. The Chinese too were experiencing a change in government. Ruled directly by the People’s Liberation Army for almost a year now since the upper levels of the Communist Party were incinerated, the armistice and peace accords saw the chance for General Guo to restore civilian rule and settle into the formal role of “Overseer.” Rather than the generals of the army that had defeated them, the Indian negotiators arrived in the new capital of Shanghai to face a team of technocrats- career diplomats, apolitical civil servants, and most importantly, economists- who had been running the nonmilitary business of the country for months with Guo’s approval. While he would retain this role in the new administration, it was clear that he planned to sit back and let the experts do their job. With the Communist Party both effectively destroyed and declared incompetent for its failure to prevent its own destruction, they were to form a new, technocratic government that shunned the business of politics in favor of expertise. No government of this type had existed on such a scale before, nor with the intention of staying on a permanent basis. Nevertheless, the new contract of governance slowly came to life as the negotiators pieced it together alongside the peace treaty with India. This new system would require that no leadership office (aside from Guo’s) would be held for more than ten years, with annual evaluations to determine the continued viability of each official based on their performance. Rather than elections, leadership offices would be applied for by anyone who thought they had the qualifications, followed by a panel of experts selecting the most qualified applicants and carrying out job interviews. It wasn’t exactly democratic, but in a country that had long since been stripped of any democratic culture, nobody really noticed the difference. Mao’s revolution was dead, its support reduced to street protests attended by a handful of former low-ranking Party officials. With a new capitalist regime that focused on attracting businesses back to China and creating prosperity by any means necessary, the Utilitarian Technate of China was open for business. Super Tuesday 9 Preview: March 16, 2004 Transcript of Alex Jones's broadcast, that fateful Tuesday "Now, you all know my position on the 11/9 attack. Gore and Giuliani, they’re both part of the Bilderberg group and they’re both responsible for killing those kids, those ordinary patriots, those blind individuals who were thrown to the slaughter like the sheep they were. They were in the fallout radius to try and make themselves look innocent. But I don’t buy it. You know why not? They’re reptilian, and immune to radiation. I’ve had some great doctors talk to me and tell me they think those scars are not from the radiation. It’s the reptilian skin beginning to poke through. Look at the recent photographs of both of them campaigning. They’re trying to keep their tongues in their mouths so we can’t see the split a reptilian would have. Make no mistake, these mainstream candidates, all the presidents since Reagan, they’re selling us out to their reptilian globalist friends. We came into today with a lot of hope. Donald Trump, a real flesh and blood American with the finances to succeed against a reptilian global elite, promised us a way out of this cycle of mainstream candidates. He told me in person he would not let me down. What he really needed was the support of more ordinary patriots. If only there would have been more awareness of programs like ours pushing the truth instead of the Mainstream Media’s lies. They were assassinating his character at every turn. So what if he said that Washington is “Hollywood for Ugly People?” He’s not wrong, at least the lizards in Hollywood are good at makeup. But everything has to be politically correct, nothing can offend those who try to rule us good patriots. I’m telling you folks, there are dark times ahead. Both Giuliani and Gore are going to keep stealing your taxes, confiscating your guns, conspiring against us. We need to be strong, in our best shape, to take on the armies of reptilians. It’s time to start buying ammo, rations, gasoline, everything we need to separate us from the government coddling they use to control us. That’s why starting today, you can buy Alex Jones Super Rations™ from the Infowars shop. These rations are packed not only with the nutrients humans need to survive and grow stronger, but special endurance enhancements banned by the reptilian-controlled FDA. We won’t stay weak because of their lies. I’m about to have my first one right at the end of this broadcast. This is real good food, and there’s nothing you can trust more, not with all the chemicals the government is putting in our soil and water." ~ Alex Jones This was the last broadcast by Alex Jones. He was found dead in his home the next day, a victim of his own enhancements. Media STAND MASTER AL GORE (Diathadevil).png|Drawn by Diathadevil, commissioned by joshuadim, this is Al Gore as he may have appeared in the JoJo artstyle. Category:RP